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New Year's Beauty Resolution of the Week: _Vogue'_s Ally Betker Takes On Her Poor Posture

January 2, 2014 11:45 AM

Photographed by Tim Walker, Vogue, April 2012

In late October, Vogue.com Culture Editor Thessaly LaForce and I were reviewing images for a story about making moonshine, for which, as the writer, I had gamely posed alongside barrels of fermented grains. “You’re such a huncher!” she observed, pointing to my sloping back and droopy shoulders. This was hardly news to me. Over the past decade, I’ve tried everything from regular appointments with a chiropractor to Post-It note reminders in an attempt to correct my poor posture.

Since I’m 25 years old, the situation isn’t exactly dire, but a quick Google search on the subject reveals a few long-term reasons to take my slumping seriously: tension headaches, chronic fatigue, and a heightened risk for injury or joint damage among them. The final motivational push arrives via spring’s flurry of scapula-baring dresses and tops; spotted on spring catwalks from Carven to Chloé, they look best worn down the runway with a confidently slung-back set of shoulders.

The first stop along my quest for a straighter spine starts with a visit to alignment expert Michelle Rodriguez at Manhattan Physio Group. The svelte brunette is the go-to weapon of choice for professional dancers like Wendy Whelan, as well as actresses Jennifer Connelly and Natalie Portman. After a 60-minute evaluation at her midtown offices, Rodriguez delivers some key observations. First, I have hyper-mobile shoulder joints—which isn’t necessarily a plus. “People who are stiff often have an easier time standing up straight, as opposed to someone who is malleable and can easily fold over,” she explains. On the front side of my body, she continues, years of forward sloping has led to shortened pectoral muscles, which further pulls the shoulders forward and down. Factor in long hours of writing at my laptop, during which I am constantly jutting my head toward the computer screen in what’s known as “forward head posture,” and it’s no wonder the trapezius muscles on either side of my neck have begun screaming in pain.

Simply stretching isn’t enough to correct the problem. Instead, Rodriguez prescribes weekly sessions of in-office orthopedic manual manipulation, a hands-on technique that’s closer to molding than massage, and which aims to realign my locked joints and muscles. At home, I follow up with series of exercises that include gliding over a foam roller to work out any remaining kinks along my spine, then laying along it while slowly applying tension to a resistance band that fires up the weak “gutter muscles” on either side.

After a few weeks, I have a noticeable ability to sit up straighter throughout the day. Encouraged, I head to **Mary Helen Bowers’**s Ballet Beautiful studio in SoHo. Her dance-inspired workouts, which demand a strong core and elongated spine, have sculpted the bodies of Miranda Kerr, Liv Tyler, Lily Aldridge, and Karen Elson. Our 60-minute class begins with a series of focused crunches and twists that fires up the abdomen. Next, we perform sets of something called “swan arms”—a standing exercise which involves gracefully flapping the arms up and down until they feel like they’re ready to fall off—and then move into a series of exercises for the back and shoulders using a pair of one-pound wrist weights. The goal, explains Bowers, is to maintain good posture throughout, so that you’re strengthening the muscles that will (eventually) hold you upright.

Back at the office, however, applying my newfound knowledge is easier said than done. I often find myself frozen in a rigid position—shoulders creeping uncomfortably toward my ears, or conversely, chest puffed out and tilted back—in a mind-over-matter behavior that’s known as overcorrecting. According to Hope Gillerman, a practitioner of the posture-perfecting method known as Alexander Technique, this is quite common. In fact, the goal of the hundred-year-old practice is to teach its students how to unlearn bad habits—like holding your head improperly or, say, crossing your legs—while releasing unnecessary tension from the body. Gillerman and I mimic everyday scenarios, like sitting in a chair (both feet flat on the floor, chin tucked slightly down to elongate the back of the neck, seat raised with hips above knees, and shoulders away from the ears), and lying in bed (as a side sleeper, one pillow should lay diagonally on top of a second, horizontal pillow for more support).

Nearly ten weeks later, with an arsenal of at-home exercises that I practice three times a week, good posture remains a daily challenge. Still, the signs of my progress are gratifying; for one, I don’t come home begging for a back rub every night, and sitting in front of my computer for a few hours doesn’t leave me in pain. Most tellingly, a recent photo taken of me over the holidays depicts someone who, standing tall in a practically backless party dress, looks healthy and self-assured—two positive new attributes I’ll gladly carry with me into 2014 and beyond.